Republican Debates

     As usual, Mitt Romney was declared the absolute winner of the debates (WashingtonPost.com, WTSP.com, & CBSNews.com).  No surprise there.  So let me offer you my take:
     Romney puts on a good show.  He is an excellent looking candidate.  He speaks well and appears unfazed by every attack.  He did look a little immature though, demanding time to speak instead of answering questions posed by other candidates (I call that stalling).  But he still has an atrocious record and is far from conservative.  And one who speaks well does not necessarily govern well (look at Barack Obama).  He still is not my choice, and will ever be, unless he is running against Obama.
     Cain owns up to his mistakes (like his support of TARP), speaks clearly, and has a decent tax plan.  This is a refreshing change from most politicians.  I don't totally agree with his 9/9/9 plan though.  I am suspicious about adding a national sales tax on top of the income tax.  Once government has a new tax, they will bump it up to higher levels in short time.  I support a national sales tax only if we abolish the income tax or pass the Balanced Budget Amendment (USPolitics.about.com) that requires a super majority in the Congress to raise taxes.  Yet, I still support him, and he is my number two choice.
     Newt Gingrich is gaining steam.  He is brilliant, but his past record makes him very undesirable.  It's better than Romney's, but not by much.  He does add lot of intellectual power to the stage though, so I think he should stick with it.  The debates may make him a winner. 
     Michele Bachmann is my number one choice, but she is floundering.  She is a solid conservative and has support the Tea Party since day one.  Unfortunately, her only highlight is winning the Iowa Straw Poll.  Her standing in the polls seemed to suffer when Perry entered the race, and there has not been a recovery.  She has done well in the House of Representatives, and if she does not get the nomination and remains a Congresswoman, it would not be a loss for conservatism.
     Perry cannot debate, and that will overshadow any other accomplishments.  He definitely shook things up when he entered, but he is terrible on stage, where Obama shines.  We need someone a bit stronger out there.  Plus his stance on immigration is weak, and he looked silly continuously attacking Romney.  The media of course praised the attacks (this can be seen in the above articles).  They take attention away from Obama and focuses it on Republican candidate's faults.  But it does not make for a good debate.
     The rest of the candidates are a long shot.  Ron Paul is all over the map, sometimes sounding conservative, other times isolationist or even liberal/populist.  Santorum appears to be a decent man, but his poll numbers are far too low at this point.  And Huntsman is barely visible.
     There is still plenty of time left, and anything can happen.  This was merely my reaction based on what I saw last night.  I am looking forward to the next debate and hearing even more from each candidate.